We finally get our hands on the 3.0-litre diesel version of the latest, cutting-edge Audi A8L and we find out if it has what it takes to beat the other two German luxury limos.

The wind howls through the canyon, accentuating the moonless night, as we snake along its winding bends. Moving at superhuman speeds, the craft we’re in barely makes a whisper. The thermal imaging cameras pick up targets ahead of us in the distance and marks out the human silhouettes on the eerie monochromatic infra-red display in the center of the cabin. I’m tempted to call out to my navigator to lock weapons and blow them away to kingdom come. But that’s not really an option. Instead my right foot jumps from the throttle onto the brake. As we shed speed, reality comes crashing down and I realize that I’m not piloting a helicopter gunship into enemy territory, but instead cruising in the lap of luxury in the latest iteration of the Audi A8.

The bottom line is that the A8L, even with this bottom-of-the-order 3.0-litre diesel mill is the real deal – a complete package that encompasses stately luxury, cutting edge innovation and technology, safety (which almost deserves a full article by itself) and classical good looks. The effort on Audi’s part to make an honest-to-goodness luxury limo feels quite genuine. The 7 Series’ and S-Classes of the world now better watch their step, for their next iterations would need to be really out of this world to shake this car out of its high perch. Till then, this A8L easily remains our favourite luxo-barge.